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The Role of Educational Leaders in Implementing a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Designed to Increase the Learning Opportunities for Diverse Students
By Frank E. Andrews
Volume 4 - Issue 4
Feb 7, 2007 - 7:18:40 PM
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The Role of Educational Leaders in Implementing a Culturally Responsive
Pedagogy Designed to Increase the Learning Opportunities for Diverse
Students
Frank E. Andrews
Director of
Undergraduate Programming
University of Massachusetts at
Lowell
Abstract
While
there has been a dramatic shift in the demographic educational
landscape of the United States, to a more culturally diverse student
population, the characteristics of teachers and educational leaders
have remained largely homogeneous. Classroom teachers and school
principals remain predominately White, approximately 90%, and 84%
respectively (National Center for Education Statistics, as cited in
Taylor & Whittaker, 2003). According to many experts, the
differences between school and home culture result in lower rates of
academic achievement for diverse learners. This article focuses on the
challenge facing educational leaders to respond to this demographic
shift by leading the implementation of a more culturally inclusive
pedagogy that will improve the learning opportunities of diverse
students.
Article
The Importance of a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
in
Education
There has been much research on the lagging educational achievement of
diverse students in the United States. In their book
Bridging Multiple Worlds: Case Studies
of Diverse Educational Communities, Taylor and Whittaker
(2003) show that “The underachievement of diverse students has been
attributed, in part, to a traditional school curriculum that has failed
to meet the needs of too many students from culturally and
linguistically diverse groups” (p. 26). The authors believe the basic
problem is the omission from the curriculum of the contributions and
participation of minorities to the history of the United States. In
Deculturalization and the
Struggle for Equality, Spring (2004) agrees when he
describes
deculturalization in education as “…destroying
a people’s culture and replacing it with a new culture” (p. 3). Spring
states that cultural prejudices of racism and bigotry have forced
diverse students to learn an Anglo-American centered curriculum. The
author is defining racism as the combination of “…prejudice plus power”
(p. 5). Lareau and Horvat (1999) concur when they describe the deep
concern on the part of some African-American parents about the legacy
of discrimination against their children in the classroom. This is at
the very heart of the issue to enhance the academic achievement of
diverse students.
In her book,
Other People’s Children:
Cultural Conflicts in the Classroom, Lisa Delpit (1995)
focuses on power relationships and the manner in which they are played
out in the classroom. The power relationships she describes establish
unspoken rules and traditions that often result in alienation and
miscommunication. Delpit stresses that those with the greatest power
are frequently least aware of its existence. Conversely, those with
less power are often most aware that they do not have it. For example,
White educators by virtue of their position or numbers present a
primarily Anglo-Americanized curriculum without taking into
consideration the opinions of and the contribution that ethnically
diverse groups may have made to the subject
matter.
In her book
The Right to Learn, Linda
Darling-Hammond (1997) describes a skillful pedagogue as one who knows
his or her audience. She emphasizes the importance of teachers who
understand the “…differences that may arise from culture, language,
family, community, gender, prior schooling, and the other factors that
shape people’s experiences” (p. 295). It is this understanding that
helps teachers to incorporate diverse cultural experiences into the
classroom. Delgado-Gaitan (1991) agrees by writing that schools need to
explore non-conventional activities that validate diverse social
cultural families. By so doing, teachers can shape lessons that will
enhance the students’ ability to understand. Therefore, the issue
facing educational leaders is how to effectively implement a program
that would enhance the learning opportunities for diverse
students.
Implementing a
Program for a Culturally Responsive
Pedagogy
Much of the research shows that academic achievement of students from
culturally diverse backgrounds will improve if schools and teachers
ensure that classroom instruction is inclusive of the students’ home
culture. For example, Banks (as cited in Taylor and Whittaker, 2003)
has recognized four strategies to help assimilate ethnic content into
elementary and secondary curriculum: “teaching about the contributions
of diverse groups, adding content about diverse groups to the
curriculum, transforming the curriculum, and social action” (p. 30).
When teachers use the contributions approach, they celebrate the
cultural diversity within the classroom by focusing on the ethnic
heroes, holidays, and foods that help define a cultural group. Adding
content, for example new lessons focusing on ethnically diverse
cultures adds to the curriculum and leaves its basic structure
unchanged. At the transformative level, the curriculum itself changes
because the structure of the curriculum becomes more inclusive of
concepts, issues, events, and themes from ethnically diverse points of
view. Finally, the action plan allows students to make decisions on
personal, social, and civic issues outside of the classroom and
challenges them to find solutions (Taylor and Whittaker,
2003).
In their book
Rethinking School Reform: Views from the
Classroom, Christensen and Karp (2003) stress that all
good pedagogy should be rooted in the students’ needs and experiences;
in other words students should be encouraged to explore how their
ethnic background connects to society. Because of the ever growing
cultural diversity of the classroom, the authors emphasize the need to
have curriculums be inclusive of everyone in society, and to examine
critically their histories and interconnections. For instance, teachers
need to celebrate diversity as well as help students understand why
some differences translate into power while others become a source of
discrimination and prejudice. Beverly Tatum illustrates this well in
her book
Why Are All the Black
Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (1997) when she
describes White privilege as the systematic advantage White people have
over people of color, intentional or otherwise, by simply being
White.
Traditional pedagogy
also leaves little room for student creativity. Christensen and Karp
(2003) encourage greater student involvement through plays,
simulations, or experiments that encourage students to work
cooperatively. Those teachers who are open to incorporating cultural
differences in classroom instruction are in an ideal position to help
raise the level of academic achievement for culturally diverse
learners. However, it would be unfair to expect teachers to perform
miracles. The ability to meet this challenge for diverse students
depends upon the way the teachers are prepared, as well as their
commitment to their responsibility as moral
stewards.
Goodlad (as cited in
Senge, 2000) addresses the issue of the ethical dimension of schooling
as a moral endeavor. He believes that schools play a primary role in
the development of educated people “…who acquire an understanding of
truth, beauty, and justice against which to judge their own and our
society’s virtues and imperfections” (p. 279). Goodlad also addresses
access to knowledge. “When school practices result in mal-distribution
of knowledge with poor and minority students receiving less access, it
is morally wrong” (p. 280). In other words, the epistemology of
teaching goes beyond simply presenting the subject matter. Rather, it
requires a nurturing pedagogy that embraces and draws out the cultural
diversity in the classroom. What then are the potential challenges to
this implementation faced by the educational
leader?
Potential
Challenges to
Implementation
Implementing a program that would create a more culturally responsive
pedagogy requires the buy-in of the teachers. In their book
Trust in Schools, Bryk and
Schneider (2002) describe that in order to support a new program
teachers must believe in the good intentions of school leadership.
Fullan’s (2004) philosophy is similar to Bryk and Schneider when he
writes that an essential component to successful change is that leaders
must have “moral purpose”
(p. 4). In other words, teachers
must believe that the educational leader is acting in the best interest
of all stakeholders. In order to achieve this buy-in the educational
leader must set clear goals and objectives; for example, enhancing the
academic achievement of diverse students through a more culturally
inclusive pedagogy. Bryk and Schneider also stress the need to provide
professional development resources to prepare teachers to become more
creative and culturally inclusive in the
classroom.
In
Schools that Learn, Peter
Senge (2000) categorically believes that a forced change by a
well-meaning and capable principal will most likely fail. Senge
describes possible strategies an educational leader may try in order to
avoid failure. First, she must make it clear that this initiative is a
first effort to solve a problem. An effective leader should attempt to
create a team-based process that will build a sense of ownership on the
part of all stakeholders. Second, she must reduce the intensity of the
change by allowing changes to the curriculum to come in stages.
Therefore, teachers have more time to adapt to it and make it their
own. Finally, she must avoid the need for major changes by having
ongoing and open discussions that address achievement inconsistencies
(p. 92).
In
Leading Effective Secondary School
Reform, Loughridge and Tarantino (2005) ardently state
that no educational leader or administrative team can create
school-wide change without the support of teacher leaders who serve as
pivotal members of committees and provide professional development and
coaching to staff members (p. 62). They go to say that, educational
leaders should encourage the opportunities for teachers to engage in
subject matter workshops, as well as reflective problem solving
conversations that focus on improving the delivery of a more culturally
inclusive pedagogy (p. 63). Teacher education is a powerful way to
ensure that teachers are better prepared to effectively respond to
culturally diverse students.
Conclusion
he population of students in United States schools is becoming more
diverse yet our schools continue to maintain the traditional approach
to school curriculum and pedagogy. The cultural and racial diversity of
the student population is not the problem; it is the pedagogical
approach of educators. Maintaining the status quo ensures lower rates
of academic achievement for culturally diverse learners. The foremost
challenge in education today is to create learning environments that
maintain and embrace the cultural integrity of all students and raise
achievement levels. The method of addressing the problem described in
this paper is to have a more culturally responsive pedagogy. For an
educational leader the major challenge is to identify effective ways to
change the perception of teachers so that they are willing to deviate
from their long-held traditional beliefs with respect to pedagogy,
culture, and learning.
For both
academic and moral reasons schools, should embrace and celebrate
cultural diversity within the classroom and close the unacceptable
achievement gap. Incorporating diverse students’ cultural experiences
into the curriculum and getting teachers to buy-in to a new pedagogical
approach to be positive steps toward effecting change and increasing
learning opportunities.
References
Bryk, A. S., &
Schneider, B. (2002).
Trust in
schools: A core resource for improvement. New York:
Russell Sage Foundation.
Christensen, L., &
Karp, S. (2003).
Rethinking
school reform: Views from the classroom. Milwaukee, WI:
Rethinking Schools.
Darling-Hammond, L. (1997).
The right to learn: A blueprint
for creating schools that work. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1991).
Involving parents in the schools: A
process of empowerment. The American Journal of Education,
100, 20-46.
Delpit, L. (1995).
Other people's children: Cultural
conflicts in the classroom. New York: The New
Press.
Fullan, M. (2004).
Leading in a culture of change: Personal
action guide and workbook. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Lareau, A., & Horvat, E.
(1999).
Moments of inclusion
and exclusions: Race, class, and cultural capital in family-school
relationships. Sociology of Education, 72(January),
37-53.
Loughridge, M., & Tarantino, L.
(2005).
Leading effective
secondary school reform: Your guide to strategies that
work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Press.
Senge, P. (2000).
Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for
educators, parents, and everyone who cares about
education. New York: Doubleday.
Spring,
J. (2004).
Deculturalization
and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of
dominated cultures in the United States (4th ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill.
Tatum, B. (1997).
Why are all the black kids sitting
together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about
race. New York: Basic Books.
Taylor,
L., & Whittaker, C. (2003).
Bridging multiple worlds: Case studies of diverse
educational communities. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.
© Copyright 2007 by Academic Leadership
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